NX30 - how reliable - common faults

I am in process of deciding to replace my faithful NX20 with an NX30. The NX20 is about 4years old and has developed a fault with the PASM control and the DIOPTA adjustment. I had considered moving to the Fuji X system however I do like my Samsung lenses and like the NX30 (if only the NX50 had happened). I do a lot of street photography and the Sammy combination is both discrete and light. I had also considered the NX500 however I'm not sure I can live with no EVF.

The key question for me is how reliable and what are the common faults with the NX30?

If you have experience or knowledge please let me know

Thanks

Laurie

Hi Laurie,

I've been using NX30 for about 2 months now and generally it works great but mine freezes quite a bit and have to take out the battery and restart. (Latest firmware) It'll do that every once in a while, sometimes more often and sometimes good for a while. It's easy to spot and a simple enough fix but still annoying when you're in the middle of shooting some fleeting moments.

Me too (two years old, latest firmware). I also see a very occasional problem where it shoots in burst mode even though the dial is set to individual shot, but I haven't been able to replicate it.

But generally it's reliable enough that I'd be confident taking it as my only camera, which is what matters to me.

I very occasionally, get the can't turn off thing happening and need to pull the battery. Latest firmware but I seem to recall it happening fairly shortly after getting the camera. Annoying, but livable, quirk.

The telescopic EVF is great if you ever book the camera up with a telescope

I owned one for many years and while I enjoyed many aspects of the camera reliability would not be near the top of my list. I had numerous lock ups that required a battery pull and on a couple of occasions the camera stopped working entirely. I eventually sent it in for repair and the replaced the faulty components.

I have only had my nx30 for a few months now, and have never owned an nx10 or nx20 to compare to.  But here is my two cents, if it is of any help.  I'm running with the latest firmware.

I have no yet seen any of the lockups, or other behavior that others have seen, that required battery removal. I did have it appear to lock up once, but I just turned it off and back on again, and it was fine. Just lucky so far I guess.

Previously I had an old nx3000, and this is a huge step better than the nx3000 for me. I LOVE the telescoping EVF. Once I had used it for a while, when I try every other camera it feels like my nose is poking into the back of the camera. I also really like being able to tilt it up to take odd angle photos, without having to squat, or resort to the screen. I really wish more cameras had a telescoping EVF. It's one of those things that seemed gimmicky, until I had used it for a while. Now I'm loath to ever have to give it up.

The focusing is much better than my old nx3000. I assume the addition of phase detect is responsible for that. It still struggles some in very low light conditions. But it does better in that case than the nx3000 did.

I'm also very happy with the speed of the UI, the controls, and the quality of the images produced.

cookedraw wrote:

Borami wrote:

Hi Laurie,

I've been using NX30 for about 2 months now and generally it works great but mine freezes quite a bit and have to take out the battery and restart. (Latest firmware) It'll do that every once in a while, sometimes more often and sometimes good for a while. It's easy to spot and a simple enough fix but still annoying when you're in the middle of shooting some fleeting moments.

It's a Samsung classic !

Spot on

Besides of this, Samsung is very reliable.

If I didn't know about it, I would have returned it. But, some searching and reading here quickly taught me it's a minor niggle, not detrimental. For the low price I paid for NX30, I figure I'll deal with it. Hopefully it doesn't just die on me.

I agree the telescoping EVF is great. I use it all the time. Slightly looking down feel a lot more comfortable than looking straight ahead on the VF, which I hadn't realized before using NX30.

You should consider getting NX500 instead. Far better camera in every aspect, if you don't need EVF that bad.

Thanks, yes I have thought about the NX500 however I do like an EVF to aid stability on slow shutter and also to help composition. Your suggestion has made me think that with a suitable loupe the NX500 might work well. Have you used a loupe on yours?

Laurie

Laurie899 wrote:

Thanks, yes I have thought about the NX500 however I do like an EVF to aid stability on slow shutter and also to help composition. Your suggestion has made me think that with a suitable loupe the NX500 might work well. Have you used a loupe on yours?

Laurie

I almost never used EVF on NX30, so was quite happy after moving to NX500. EVF on NX30 is not that good, and if you need stability, you can always use your elbows or strap. Anyway, EVF won't help much with shooting at slow shutter speeds.

I experienced all NX30 faults mentioned here: it refused to turn off, sometimes shot in series instead of single shot, etc. NX500 had no problem. And IQ wise it is way better too.